Tanohara Onsen Tairokan; Sasa no Shizuku

Insider tip — 'Sasa no Shizuku' (笹の雫 — dewdrop on bamboo grass) at Tanohara Onsen Tairokan in Minamioguni-machi, at the western foot of the Kuju Mountains. Minamioguni borders the Waita geothermal zone — one of Kyushu's most active sulfurous volcanic areas. The delicate name 'dewdrop on bamboo grass' is a poetic contrast with the powerful sulfurous steam that defines this volcanic landscape. The sasa (Sasa bamboo grass) covers the Kuju highland meadows; its morning dewdrops evaporate in the volcanic steam rising from the earth below.